Planning Commission splurges Rs 35 lakh to upgrade 2 toilets

June 6, 2012

ToiletNew Delhi, June 6: The Yojana Bhavan toilets are causing a stink of a different kind. The Planning Commission, which estimated a poverty line figure of Rs 28 per day per person, lavished Rs 35 lakh on refurbishing two toilets in its headquarters.

For good measure, the commission has admitted in an RTI response, it has spent Rs 5.19 lakh in installing an access control system in the toilets. The facility, installed while the toilets were renovated recently, is aimed at limiting access to only those people who had smart cards.

According to data given to RTI activist SC Agrawal, 60 smart cards were issued to Plan panel officials.

The commission had also decided to install CCTV cameras in the corridors leading to these toilets as the officials said there were instances of pilferage in the washrooms. Estimates have been sought from the CPWD.

The disclosure comes on the back of reports that Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia had spent over Rs 2 lakh per day on foreign travel between May and October 2011. Another report said that he undertook 42 official trips aggregating 274 days between June 2004 and January 2011 at a cost of Rs 2.34 crore.

Refuting the inferences drawn, Ahluwalia had said that foreign travels are needed for discharge of official duties.

In its response, the Plan panel has said the system in the toilets is still to be made operational. However, sources said that the door access system was disabled within hours of the toilets being declared fit for use after protests from people working on the floor.

A note from the commission officials proposing the upgrade of toilets last year shows that the two toilets to be renovated as a pilot project and after execution of the work, decision on renovation of other washrooms would be taken.

Times View

At a time when the government is ostensibly in the midst of an austerity drive, it seems unacceptably extravagant for Rs 35 lakh to be spent on a couple of toilets. What adds to the irony is the fact that it the same Planning Commission that informs us that it is possible for Indians to survive on sums as measly as less than Rs 32 a day.

Surely it cannot fail to see how absurd the situation is. If the government advocates belt tightening, examples must be set at the very top of the hierarchy. Such examples of splurging rob its message of any meaning.



Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 21,2020

Nagpur, July 21: In a shocking incident, an 11-year-old boy allegedly killed self in Maharashtra's Nagpur city after being reprimanded by his mother for buying a samosa, police said on Tuesday.

Veeru Natthu Sahu was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his home in Ganga Nagar in Gittikhadan area on Sunday night, an official said.

The deceased boy's family was struggling to make ends meet after their small business was hit because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, he said.

The Class 7 student had taken Rs 10 from home without asking his mother and bought a samosa, which was then eaten by his elder brother, the official said.

The boy's mother scolded him for taking money without her permission and asked him to get the snack for himself, following which the distraught minor allegedly went into the kitchen and hanged himself using a saree, he said.

The Gittikhadan police have registered a case of accidental death in this regard, the official added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 12,2020

May 12: A Madhya Pradesh Police sub-inspector was fined Rs 5,000 after he performed a daredevil act of balancing himself on two moving cars, copying the famous stunt from Ajay Devgn-starrer 'Singham'.

Manoj Yadav, the in-charge of Narsinghgarh police post in Damoh district, was also warned against any such daredevilry in future, police sources said on Monday.

Sporting shades as the hero of the cop drama film and wearing his police uniform, Yadav got the entire episode video-graphed, they said.

As the video of the stunt went viral on social media, senior police officials took serious note of it as it will send wrong signals to youngsters, the sources said.

Inspector General, Sagar range, Anil Sharma directed Damoh Superintendent of Police Hemant Chauhan to probe the matter.

After an investigation, Chauhan imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the sub-inspector and warned him not to repeat such mistakes.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 16,2020

Surat, Jul 16: Woman police constable Sunita Yadav, who had a confrontation with a minister's son over lockdown violation which led to his arrest here in Gujarat, claimed she has resigned from service. However, a senior police official has denied it.

Prakash Kanani, the son of Gujarat Minister of State for Health Kumar Kanani, and his two friends were arrested on Sunday for allegedly violating the lockdown and night curfew orders in Surat, a COVID-19 hotspot, a senior police official earlier said.

Yadav, who is being hailed on social media for taking action against the minister's son, told news channels on Wednesday that she had put in her papers.

"I have resigned because I did not receive support from my superior officers. I was only doing my duty as a constable. It's the fault of our system that these people (like the minister's son) think they are VVIPs (very very important persons)," she said.

However, a senior police official here denied that she has resigned.

"She has not given her resignation. The inquiry is still on and technically she cannot resign at this juncture," Surat Police Commissioner R B Brahmbhatt said.

Yadav's action had led to the registration of an FIR and arrest of Prakash Kanani and two of his friends for alleged violation of lockdown and curfew norms in Surat city.

The arrests came after a video of a heated exchange between them and Yadav, who pulled up the trio for violation of curfew, surfaced on social media. The trio was later released on bail.

Since the incident, Yadav is being hailed on social media.

While some social media users called her "Lady Singham" (referring to the tough cop in the Hindi film "Singham"), some suggested she contest the 2022 state Assembly polls against Kumar Kanani, who represents Varachha constituency in Surat district.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.